Banco Santander S.A. Has $3.23 Million Stock Position in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB)

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its stake in Albemarle Co. (NYSE:ALB) by 19.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,095 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock after selling 8,087 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Albemarle were worth $3,229,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Community Trust NA bought a new position in shares of Albemarle during the second quarter valued at $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Albemarle by 610.0% in the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 284 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Albemarle in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Albemarle by 61.9% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 387 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Albemarle by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 400 shares of the specialty chemicals company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALB has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Albemarle from $105.00 to $80.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Albemarle from $108.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of Albemarle from $128.00 to $103.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Albemarle from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Albemarle from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.47.

Albemarle Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Albemarle stock opened at $109.09 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.82 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.51 and a beta of 1.55. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.62. Albemarle Co. has a 12-month low of $71.97 and a 12-month high of $153.54. The company has a current ratio of 2.44, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Albemarle Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th will be given a $0.405 dividend. This represents a $1.62 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 13th. Albemarle’s payout ratio is -9.67%.

Albemarle Company Profile

Albemarle Corporation develops, manufactures, and markets engineered specialty chemicals worldwide. It operates through three segments: Energy Storage, Specialties and Ketjen. The Energy Storage segment offers lithium compounds, including lithium carbonate, lithium hydroxide, and lithium chloride; technical services for the handling and use of reactive lithium products; and lithium-containing by-products recycling services.